Sartell Man Pleads Guilty Check Forgery, Theft-by-Swindle Charges

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A Sartell man has pleaded guilty to some of the charges against him related to exploiting vulnerable adults and defrauding homeowners.

Forty-two-year-old Travis Peterlin has pleaded guilty to one count of check forgery for bilking an elderly man out of thousands of dollars.

Peterlin also pleaded guilty to one count of theft-by-swindle for taking down payments on a bathroom renovation but never doing the work.

Peterlin will be sentenced on May 21st and will be required to pay more than $77,000 in restitution. He faces additional charges in Isanti County, Sherburne County, and Hennepin County.

Hennepin County charges allege that he used his power of attorney over his vulnerable mother to steal more than $170,000 in cash and buy an $86,000 SUV in her name.

The Isanti charges allege Peterlin convinced a woman to loan him more than $50,000 to buy a pickup and trailer he never bought. He also allegedly collected checks worth thousands of dollars from the woman for work that was either never done or greatly exceeded what it should have cost.

She told an investigator that she felt she was being overcharged but was too embarrassed to tell her children. The woman's power of attorney was not present during the transactions.

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Court records indicate the woman was swindled out of more than $143,000.